Saturday, November 16, 2013

Dining Out in San Francisco - The Plant Cafe Organic

Plant Burger with Mixed Greens - The Plant Cafe Organic

During my first trip to the West Coast I had a layover in San Francisco, a city I've always wanted to visit. While I only saw the airport this time around, I was excited when I stepped off the plane and saw a vegan-friendly restaurant in my terminal (hint: fly Virgin America to get access to this gem).

I power-walked my way up to the counter at The Plant Cafe Organic and upon seeing "Awarded 1 of 10 Best Burgers in San Francisco" I decided I would give the Plant Burger a try. Though tempted by the vegan cupcakes and cookies, I started with a real meal. It is a house-made burger with lentils, mushrooms, beets, cashews, and bulgar wheat served on a sourdough bun with lettuce, tomato, caramelized onions and aioli. It comes with a side of mixed greens and a citrus dressing. The burger was like comfort food, filling, tasty and a little bit of an indulgence. Any time there is a creamy dressing or sauce on my vegan food it's a treat. The burger patty even looked like a rare meat burger from the red beet coloring, which is gross in a way but also amusing :) After waiting around some more and fully digesting, I went back for a smoothie to take on the plane. I got the Blue Green smoothie. It interested me because of the spirulina. I often feel the need to overdose on vitamins and nutrients when traveling to avoid getting sick. Spirulina is a green superfood loaded with protein, amino acids, and iron and is found in tropical lakes (think algae). I had a smoothie that looked similar to this years ago from Whole Foods. This one contained bananas, blueberries, almond milk, coconut milk and spirulina. It was the right amount of sweetness and the combined fruits worked well together. They also offer a number of fresh fruit and vegetable juices, along with a longer list of vegan-friendly entrees and baked goods. With a growing number of locations throughout San Francisco, I would say this place is doing pretty well. I applaud them for offering travelers a healthy option - it was certainly my first encounter with truly delicious vegan options in an airport.